When I first got my emerald toucanet, Yoshi, there was only one expert in the field of toucans. His name is Jerry Jennings and he is considered by many people to be an expert for a reason. Jerry has decades of experience with toucans both in captivity and in the wild. He was the first to breed toucans in the United States and the founder of Emerald Forest Bird Gardens. He is still admired by many as one of the best experts when it comes to toucans.
However, as more and more people and zoos began acquiring toucans, both as pets and in captivity, the number of experts has naturally continued to grow.
This has led to new experts in the field and new opinions on big topics, the hottest and most debated of those is nutrition.
When I first got Yoshi in 2008, the main diet of toucans in captivity was papaya, blueberries, and low iron Mazuri pellets. Other fruits could be supplemented to add to this, but this was generally the main diet suggested at the time.
What everyone agrees on…
One thing all the experts agree on is toucans are prone to iron storage disease or hemochromatosis, so they MUST have a diet low in iron. Another definite nutrition guideline is NO CITRUS for toucans! Citric acid aids in the absorption of iron in the intestines and thus should never be given to toucans!
Today’s diet is recommended by most experts to include diversity. I usually try to accomplish this with in-season fruits. Adding lots of different fruits to your toucan’s diet is a sure way to ensure they are not having “too much of a bad thing”.
There are several “toucan diet” lists out there. The one I find the most comprehensive is by Dr. Jason Crean. It includes a wide variety of fruits that toucans can have that can create a great diverse diet. Click here to see the raw whole food guide for toucans.
What about those pellets?
Another great debate in the toucan world is whether or not toucans should have pellets as part of their diet or if they should instead have a totally unprocessed whole food diet, which would exclude pellets totally.
There are several brands of low-iron pellets out there but the ones most recommended by breeders and experts are Mazuri low-iron pellets for softbills. The reason that Mazuri is most often recommended is that each batch of pellets is analyzed for iron content, to ensure it meets the appropriate recommendations.
Others argue that any processed pellet, for any bird, poses a health risk and should be avoided. They prefer a more whole-food approach which includes the elimination of all processed foods to ensure the healthiest bird.
So who is right?
The truth is that there isn’t enough research on toucans and diet to give a firm answer. However, one could easily argue that processed foods aren’t good for humans, so how could they be good for our birds? That makes sense, right? We all know that eating less processed food for ourselves is a better health choice than eating processed foods. However, most of us still do.
On the other hand, not feeding the pellet to your toucan could seem like a scary decision. Since this is the diet that most breeders and zoos have used for decades with great success, you can see why one would be fearful to stray from it. Many will argue that adding pellets to the toucan diet is necessary since we cannot replicate their diet in captivity. They also argue that its success has been proven by the ever-growing number of breeding toucans and the longevity of toucans in zoos or as pets. The vast majority of these toucans, following a pelleted and low-iron fruit diet, have lived their lifespan.
What should I do?
The bottom line, in my opinion, is that you have to decide for yourself what you think is the right thing to do for your toucan. Do you use the widely suggested pellet, do you minimize how many pellets you give (ex: give less than what is recommended so kind of halfway between giving them fully and not at all), or do you not give any pellets and do fully raw whole food?
It is a difficult decision. However, I suggest that you do your research, ask questions and speak to your avian veterinarian. Gathering as much information as possible could help you make a decision on how to proceed with your toucan’s diet.
To help you do your research, you may want to join this Facebook group on Avian Raw Whole Foods that is run by Dr. Jason Crean. While there are limited toucan owners in the group, there are many posts about toucans. Dr. Crean also has his own toucans and is a breeder as well so he does have lots of experience with toucans.
I would also suggest joining the Facebook group Toucans, Toucanets, and Aracaris which is run by Jerry Jennings and Emerald Forest Bird Gardens. This group often has topics related to food and nutrition and you can get many perspectives about both raw whole diets, as well as using pellets in your toucan’s diet.
What many of us have learned over the years is that we desperately need more research on toucans in so many areas, especially diet. Many avian veterinarians also struggle with guiding pet owners of toucans in nutrition, again because there is significantly limited information and research.
My hope is that as toucans become more and more popular as companions that more research will be conducted to help us, as well as avian veterinarians, make informed decisions on how to best care for our toucan’s nutrition.
4 comments:
I am confused because our vet said absolutely no blueberries for our soft billed toucan. He said that they have too much iron.
Thank you Ron for your comment and for subscribing! The truth is there isn’t enough research on nutrition in captivity to really know what the “true diet” should be. I think the best approach is a diverse diet with not too much of one thing, but this is just my opinion. I would suggest joining the FB group I mentioned in the post, you can ask any questions you wish and many of the experts will often comment using their expertise.
Hi Kimberly. Thank you very much for the great information and for giving me permission to share your great info in our magazine for everyone to learn how to look after Toucans.
From: World Wide Birds magazine
You are very welcome! I can’t wait to see what you publish! Thanks for the shout out!